News Article

DOHA, QATAR - College of the North Atlantic - Qatar (CNA-Q) hosted the inaugural meeting of its newly-established Academic Council Thursday, March 1, 2018.
 
As a branch of a Canadian College, all academic regulations and program reviews were previously governed by the home institution College of the North Atlantic (CNA), in Canada.  As College of the North Atlantic-Qatar moves toward stronger local governance and a National College framework, the academic approval process for credit programs has been shifted to take place here, in Qatar, within a Council of academic experts.
 
CNA-Q Academic Council is comprised of internal and external advisors, including representatives from each of the College’s academic schools, a representative from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education, leaders of both CNA and CNA-Q administration, as well as student and alumni representation.
 
“We are pleased to say the inaugural meeting of CNA-Q’s Academic Council was very successful.  This type of local decision-making allows our programs to be even more responsive to the needs of Qatar’s workforce,” said Vice President - Academic, Ms. Samah Gamar. “There will be absolutely no change to the type of education we offer – a high quality curriculum that is internationally-recognized and rooted in applied, experiential learning with a student-centred focus.  What has changed is the provision of academic expertise and policies, so that new programs and program adaptations can be implemented with increased responsiveness to the needs of Qatari employers.”
 
The first meeting was an opportunity for the Council to review its mandate and orient the new 23-member team.  There was also some immediate work to get done, with a number of academic programs presented for review and discussion.
 
“Having a Qatar-based Academic Council will help the College ensure that our programs are responsive to an economy that is shifting toward a more knowledge-based workforce with an emphasis on STEM and emerging technologies.  We aim to keep our programs relevant to the evolving local labour market while maintaining rigorous international academic standards,” said Gamar.
 
CNA-Q is Qatar’s premier technical college, offering over 30 diploma programs in Business Studies, Engineering Technology, Health Sciences and Information Technology. Since opening in 2002, over 5,000 graduates have entered the labour market contributing to a knowledge-based economy and making the Qatar National Vision 2030 a reality.